Ha, ha! [Pokes The Rabbi.] You don't laugh enough!
The Rabbi.
As I was about to say, when I was interrupted, you have said that Rafael wants to go away. Then let him go! When he comes back he'll have a different view of his people. Do you fear he won't come back; not come back to his home—to his blind old father? You are foolish, Sachel! Drive him away, and he'll find that there is no home in the world like a Jewish home—that a clock ticks nowhere in the world as it does by one's own hearth. Ah, the Christians don't know what family life is; they have nothing to compare with ours. It is because we stay by one another, because we are sober and temperate and industrious and respectful of our elders!
[Rafael goes up, faces the three men at the back; they slink off. He returns, showing a new determination in his face.
Sachel.
He ought to marry; then he would appreciate that.
The Rabbi.
Marry? Who spoke of marrying? He doesn't want to marry yet; I wouldn't have him marry yet. Don't try to hurry Rafael; he's not the fellow to stand it. My dear friends, when the time comes, and a strong, fine-looking young fellow makes up his mind that——
It is a good idea. I have been thinking of marriage all day.